Over the past few centuries or so, one of the main goals of gun makers has been to try to pack as much power in as small a package as possible. Now, when you're dealing with a single-shot muzzleloader, this isn't all that difficult. Just scale down the gun and open up the bore, and voila, you can get a .50- or .60-caliber hideout pistol that fits handily in your greatcoat pocket and has enough puissance to stop a footpad in his tracks (a pretty good deal, as long as he's by himself).

Formative big/little revolvers posed more of a problem, as the larger the caliber of the bullet, the larger the cylinder that was needed. There were attempts to ameliorate this drawback by limiting the number of shots a gun held, à la the .41 four-round Colt Cloverleaf and some five-shot .44 and .45 British and European "bulldogs." Reception was good but guarded.

When auto pistols came out, they provided a flatter, more easily concealed package, but again, stopping power suffered, as the technology of the time did not allow these to be made in calibers much larger than .380 ACP.

Still, demand for a repeating hideout gun of any sort was such that scads of .22s, .25s, .32s and .380s were made and sold worldwide. Some, such as the Walther PP and PPK, Colt Model M, Mauser HSc and Beretta Model 34 were even used as military sidearms.

SPECIFICATIONS Para-Ordnance Carry GAP
MAKER:	Para-Ordnance
ACTION:	Recoil-Operated Semiauto
CALIBER:	.45 GAP
CAPACITY:	6 +1 (Carry), 7+1 (Companion Carry)
BARREL LENGTH:	3 in. (Carry), 3 1/2 in. (Companion Carry)
OVERALL LENGTH:	6.4 in. (Carry), 6.9 in. (Companion Carry)
WEIGHT:	29 oz. (Carry), 31 (Companion Carry)
SIGHTS:	Fixed, three-dot
STOCKS:	Black phenolic
METAL:	Covert Black Para Kote
PRICE:	$1,049

There are a number of problems inherent in designing a small pistol to handle a service-style load. Scaling the locking, feeding and recoil systems to deal with the pressures and case dimensions of service loads (most popularly .45 ACP) is no easy task, and one can but marvel at the design acumen that has been brought to bear to finally accomplish the task.

Early attempts at shrinking down the .45 ACP included such primitive efforts as the mini-compact World War II stamped-sheet-steel Liberator, a throwaway smoothbore single-shot intended for partisan work behind enemy lines.

Another interesting evolutionary piece was the Semmerling LM4, a .45 ACP five-shooter that measured just a touch over five inches long. Introduced in the late 1970s, it had a fixed, locked breech. After it was fired, the slide was manipulated by the thumb to eject the spent case and chamber the next cartridge. With practice, the gun could be worked quite fast. It's a fascinating but pricey contrivance, and it is still offered in limited quantities by American Derringer Corp. (cont.)